10 Best Epic Hollywood Punch-Ups
3. The Bride V Elle (Kill Bill: Vol. 2)
The Bride (Uma Thurman) squares off against former ally Elle (Darryl Hannah) on her revenge quest against those who done her wrong. Delivered with comic book brutality, it’s a fight scene that ranks high on the list of iconic Tarantino moments.
There are swords involved, but this is no sword fight, more a fierce, frenetic and messy scrap for survival.
It’s a showcase scene for Tarantino, blending his love for old Oriental action pics with a blackly-comic riff on working class Americana, thanks to the claustrophobic trailer park setting.
In similar vein to the Riggs – Mr Joshua fight, this is a battle of equals, essentially two sides of the same violent coin. Both forgoing their trained assassin skills for a more feral fight style. Nothing is off-limits with punches, crotch-kicks and heads down the toilet coming into play. While both claw for anything and everything to be used as a weapon, from canned food to a guitar.
It’s nasty, bloody, visceral and funny. And whereas the victor comes as no real surprise, the horrific way the conclusion arrives never fails to shock.